A visit to "La Boca"

With little of our normal missionary assignment available to do during the holiday weeks, we've enjoyed a little more "tourism" activities instead. On Saturday Dec 28 we joined a group of other senior missionaries for a long bus ride to the La Boca neighborhood. It's located in the southeast corner of the metropolitan area, at the mouth of a river (hence the name, which means "the mouth"). The area was originally settled by Italian immigrants, and actually tried to succeed from Argentina once in 1882.

The downtown area is distinctive for its beautifully colored buildings and a lively central area of shops and restaurants.

A Missionary Christmas

I think the only previous time in my life when I have been away from home and family during the Christmas season was probably during my first mission to Brazil, in 1976 and 1977. Even when I was single and living in Virginia, I always went west to visit family for the holidays.

This time, at least Bonnie and I were together, though we keenly missed being with our children and grandchildren. There's not much we can do right now related to our mission assignment, since all the organizations and people we collaborate with, in and out of the office, are on extended vacations. So it seemed especially quiet and lonely for us. We worked to fill our time with good activities.

The Recoleta Cemetery of Buenos Aires

The cemetery entryway - "Rest In Peace"

El Cementerio de la Recoleta is one of the most beautiful and unique cemeteries in the world. It covers 14 acres in one of the oldest and most exclusive neighborhoods in Buenos Aires, where it's been in use for almost a century.  According to the official statistics there are 4,691 above-ground vaults; 94 of them are National Historical Monuments. Among those buried here are many former presidents of Argentina, military leaders, scientists and educators, Nobel Prize winners, and other notable personalities. And of course the most famous of all, Eva "Evita" Duarte Perón (but not her husband Juan Perón).

It's utterly fascinating to wander around and view the variety of monuments and mausoleums. Some are exotic and ornate, resembling mini churches; some are more simple, and others are falling into disrepair. Many have visible above-ground coffins, but many others have a room that leads to under-ground crypts where the coffins are.

Wheelchair interviews in Argentina

Our journey through Argentina during November and December gave us the opportunity to visit a number of wheelchair recipients and do follow-up interviews. One of our missionary responsibilities is to interview about 10% of those who receive chairs from the Church, at least 6 months after they receive the chair, to make sure that the process of distributing the chairs by our partners follows the guidelines set by the Church and that the chair is functioning well for the recipient.  We ask a series of questions to make sure the person was not charged for the wheelchair, that they were given the proper training on how to use and care for the chair, etc.

It's absolutely fascinating to meet with these people. They are usually very gracious and willing to talk to us. Most of them would never be able to afford a wheelchair of this quality, so the gift to them is truly a blessing. Each is unique in their needs and circumstances; we love the chance to learn about them and give them encouragement.

Three hospital deliveries

Map of our journey. Click to enlarge.

On Wednesday November 27, Sister Kenison and I embarked on a journey through central Argentina. By the time we were done, we had driven almost 3500 kilometers (2200 miles) in 10 days! It was an exhausting marathon, but we accomplished a lot and learned good things about our service opportunities in the process.

The main purpose for the trip was to participate in three hospital deliveries, in the cities of Mar del Plata, Bahia Blanca, and Neuquen. All of these were to large public hospitals, which often struggle to operate under limited budgets and overwhelming patient loads.

We also took advantage of the trip to meet with stake presidents along the way to prepare for future projects, and to perform a number of follow-up wheelchair interviews.

Wheelchairs in Paraguay, part 3 - "One by one"

My previous two posts described the process of wheelchair distribution that we have begun to discover here in our mission. There was one experience in today's wheelchair event that, to me, expressed beautifully the spirit of the work that were are privileged to be involved in. It spoke to the balance between efficiency and personalization. It reflected the principle that each and every soul is worthwhile and valuable in God's eyes, and therefore should be valuable to us.

The efficiency of the event exists in asking the recipients to come to a central place to be evaluated. That is sometimes difficult for them, but they are willing to sacrifice in order to get a top-quality wheelchair at no cost to them.

Today we were asked to make an exception.

Wheelchairs in Paraguay, part 2 - Fundación Solidaridad

The second part of our week in Paraguay we switched to working with a second partner, Fundación Solidaridad. This group is an NGO (non-goverment organization), so we saw the contrast between them and the government-sponsored SENADIS. They have better facilities and a broader outreach. They invite patients to pay for services when they are able, but have funds available to help those who are not able to pay. In general the care level is a step up, and their vision of helping and making a difference is inspiring.

Instead of requiring everyone to come to the central office, as is the rule for SENADIS patients,
Solidaridad has developed a great way of sharing wheelchairs in remote areas that they call a "jornada." They pick a city or area in the country where a need exists. They then work with the government agencies and health care professionals in that area to find candidates. Normally about 40 or 50 patients can be helped at a time. The local workers select the most needy candidates in the area and schedule them to come to a central location for a 2-day event. We were able to go with Solidaridad on a jornada to a city called Caacupé, about an hour east of Asunción.

Wheelchairs in Paraguay, part 1 - SENADIS

Church-donated wheelchairs
in a warehouse in Paraguay

We are just back from spending a fascinating week in Paraguay (Nov 18-22). The work in that country isn't directly part of our official "stewardship" at this point. In the past, the missionaries assigned to our position have covered projects not in just Argentina but also Paraguay and Uruguay. However, earlier this year a local, native service missionary couple were called in each of those countries to take over the duties. The situation in Paraguay is currently complicated by having lost that couple (called to serve in the temple presidency), so the future needs are uncertain.

Meanwhile, there is a good amount of catch-up work to be done, so we were in Paraguay to be trained by a visiting wheelchair project coordinator visiting from SLC.  We may need to return again to help with getting caught up. The wheelchair project is one of six "major initiatives" in the LDS Charities worldwide outreach. As missionaries serving in the field, we don't define or administer the programs that occur in our countries; but we do a number of things to support them.

Wheelchairs and a Cathedral in La Plata

Fun to see our Church logo
on the backs of the chairs

We had the opportunity on Friday November 8 to go on our first excursion out of the city. We checked out a car from the carpool in the area office and drove about an hour south to the city of La Plata. The drive was interesting, beginning to see more of the country outside the big city. (Most of eastern Argentina is flat as a board; where are the mountains???)

The purpose of our visit was to experience a "wheelchair delivery" with our partner organization CILSA. We enjoyed the experience. There were about 10 chairs shared with people with various physical challenges, including two adult amputees, several young children with serious muscular disabilities, and others with less obvious challenges. It was fun to see and hear the joy in each one as they experienced the new chairs. One mother expressed how her life will change now. She had mostly carried her child (who appeared to have cerebral palsy) everywhere, but the child was now too large and the wheelchair would allow her to have so much more freedom. Others had similar reactions of joy and gratitude.

Two Apostolic Dedications in Buenos Aires

The plaque in the park
commemorating the dedication

Missionary efforts of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in South America formally began less than a hundred years ago. On Christmas Day in 1925, Elder Melvin J. Ballard of the Quorum of Twelve Apostles, accompanied by Elders Rey L. Pratt and Rulon S. Wells of the Seventy, gathered in the Parque Tres de Febrero in Buenos Aires. As directed by the First Presidency, Elder Ballard offered a dedicatory prayer on the lands of South America.

We were thrilled to realize that our apartment is only a few blocks from that same park. We did a little investigating and were able to locate this plaque in the park, placed only 4 years ago in honor of the dedication.

The original dedicatory prayer included these words:

And now, oh, Father, by authority of the blessing and appointment by the President of the Church, and by the authority of the holy apostleship which I have, I turn the key, unlock, and open the door for the preaching of the Gospel in all these South American nations, and do rebuke and command to be stayed every power that would oppose the preaching of the Gospel in these lands; and we do bless and dedicate these nations of this land for the preaching of thy Gospel. And we do all this that salvation may come to all men, and that thy name may be honored and glorified in this part of the land of Zion.

To read the full dedicatory prayer, click here.

Humanitarian Projects: Our Initial Overview

Sister Kenison, hard at work
in our little office

As we received our introduction and training to our assignment, we were told it was typical for us to spend an average of three weeks each month in the office and one week out of the office. We didn't quite understand at first why so much office time was needed; we wanted to be out working among the people, getting things done! But we have come to understand the need for the preparation and coordination that occurs in support of the actual projects. There is a lot of "virtual paperwork" (online information) that is done for every project, describing the needs, the costs, the benefits, etc. We have a limited budget that has to be carefully allocated among the proposed projects, and so there is prioritization to be done based on priorities set by the Area Presidency and the Church. In addition, we have lots of partners to work with, lots of followup to do, and so on. So there is a lot of "administrative overhead" that goes into the actual efforts!

"La Casa del Señor"

As we entered the beautiful Buenos Aires temple and prepared to participate in an endowment service, so much felt different and odd; but yet so much was very familiar and comfortable. It's fascinating to experience something in a foreign language that you know well in your native language. As you try to make sense of the words, there's a need to focus and concentrate that can bring new insights and comprehension. This was particularly the case for us today as we were asked to be the witness couple. Though we may not have understood every word, we knew exactly what was happening and why, and didn't miss any of the "cues" for our responsibility. Attempting to interpret the language was relatively easy. It got perhaps a little more challenging when our turn came to participate in the spoken portions!

Early impressions of Buenos Aires

As we complete our first work-week, here are some photos and impressions of our new hometown. We're living in the Palermo area of Buenos Aires, which (we're told) is one of the nicest areas of town. So it may not be a very representative sample of the greater city. But it's our home for now, and we see mostly what we walk to within this area.

We love that the streets are all lined with these large, beautiful trees! They take up good sections of the sidewalk, and their roots tend to disrupt the smoothness of the paving tiles, but it's worth it. They add such a feeling of peace and loveliness to the "concrete jungle" that would otherwise dominate every view. Incidentally, since we're just moving from spring to summer here in the southern hemisphere, we're told they leaves have only recently returned. I'm sure it won't be quite as spectacular next winter when the branches are bare!

Project delivery: pediatric dialysis machine

On Thursday 10/10, we had the privilege of participating in a delivery for a project that was started many months ago. It involved the donation of a pediatric dialysis machine to the Hospital Posadas, one of the largest hospitals in the country. Argentina has a nationalized medicine system, so this public hospital has quite a large mission. We were told it serves as many as 7 million potential patients in many of its specialties, and has a large pediatric ward.

Hospital Posadas, Buenos Aires

Arriving in "the field"

Long immigration line!

After 14 hours of airplane time (including an overnight, with uncomfortable and interrupted sleep), it's always delightful to be greeted by red tape - in this case, an immigration line that took well over an hour of standing! Sigh. But we did survive, eventually got through the border check with minimal problems, all our luggage arrived safely, and we actually breezed through customs (the part we worried a little more about). So it certainly could have been worse! We were picked up at the airport by a delightful senior couple named Dave & Colleen Smith, and began our journey into town.

Argentina, here we come!

Loaded with luggage at the airport

We are on our way to Argentina! The past two weeks have been a great emotional roller coaster. We started out with great joy and anticipation as we were set apart two weeks ago. Our time in the MTC was wonderful and inspiring, with lots of learning and insight and occasional doses of reality about the challenges we will face.

But through this time, we have enjoyed being at home during the evenings and weekends. It's been especially fun to interact with our son and daughter-in-law's family as they moved into our home. We truly loved that part. During this time, we continued to gather our mission supplies and set aside all the clothing in preparation for eventual packing.

What is a humanitarian service missionary?

Bonnie and I are serving as Humanitarian Service Missionaries. The second week of our training in the MTC focused on the specific duties we'll have in this area. We basically function as the outreach agents of LDS Charities, the humanitarian service arm of the Church. The aims of our service focus on reaching out to those who struggle, to provide assistance regardless of their religion, race, or nationality. In fact, the efforts explicitly focus primarily on those who are not members of our Church.

The "Latter-Day Saints Charities" organization was created over 30 years ago to facilitate this mission. We have been thrilled to come to better understand their mission; it corresponds so much with our own desire to help those in need, since we recognize how richly blessed our lives are.

Teachings and gifts

Our first week in the MTC was described as "Preach My Gospel Training." As humanitarian service missionaries we will not be doing any direct proselyting, but all senior missionaries are asked to go through this review and training in order to take advantage of opportunities that might arise, and to be able to support the "junior missionaries" as appropriate. It was quite worthwhile, especially to be able to do together as a couple.

It's interesting to have all these "elderly" seasoned mature senior couples, with vast and varied Church experience, taught by fresh recently returned youth missionaries. The teachers do a fantastic job! The curriculum at the MTC has been developed over many years to be powerful and effective, and focuses on both critical doctrines as well as effective presentation.

Returning to the LTM/MTC

Elder Kenison, 1976

The old KMB, climbing the hillside
at the southeast side of BYU campus.

I began my first mission on July 8, 1976. I reported to the LTM (Language Training Mission) at the Knight-Mangum building on the southeast edge of BYU campus. We had classes there for about a month, and stayed in campus dorms not far away.  It was a good beginning, though always somewhat cramped and uncomfortable in the older buildings, especially in the heat of summer.

Early in August, we were told to completely pack our suitcases before we left our rooms in the morning. We went to class as normal, but then at the end of the day, proceeded to our new accommodations where our suitcases were waiting for us, at the "new LTM" northeast of campus, just downhill from the Provo Temple.

The hour of your mission is come!

It was a thrilling experience to report to the MTC this morning. I had flashbacks to a similar event 43 years ago, when my family "delivered" me, a young and nervous 19-year-old, to the LTM to begin my first mission. And then more recently, to the experience of dropping off our son when he went to Chile in 2009.

This time, "Sister Kenison" and I just drove ourselves down, parked our car, and checked ourselves in. No painful farewells or tearful hugs! We'll stay at home in the evenings for the next week and a half while we attend the daytime classes and evening devotionals.

Friends, Farewells, and becoming Set Apart

The past two days have been wonderful! On Saturday, we invited family and friends to join us for an "ice cream celebration." Family and friends showed up in force; we didn't count, but I'm sure we had 150 people drop by. It was so fun to chat with friends, old and new, and to hear their congratulations, encouragement, and advice. We shared this beautiful and delicious cake made by our "Brazilian daughter" Alessandra, along with alfajores cookies (an Argentina tradition) that I tried baking as an experiment. And of course, lots of ice cream!

On the home front

As we anticipated our period of missionary service, one of the conversations with our family was what to do with our home while we were gone. We have friends in the neighborhood who could check on it and help maintain the yard if needed; and it was nice to know our children were not far away.

At some point, the idea of having our son Matt and his wife Jenna move into the home came up. They have been fixing up an older home in Spanish Fork, and have done many wonderful things to increase its value. But they were also feeling it might be time the right for a transition. If they were able to sell that home and move into ours, they would have a year and a half to save more money (not paying a mortgage) for their next home; and we would have the benefit of our house being watched over and cared for. As we talked more about the idea, both they and we felt very positive about the arrangement. So they put their house on the market, and we began to anticipate having them move in with us.

Called to serve Him!

The timeline for turn-around of calls for youth missionaries was always pretty predictable. But for senior missionaries, it's very not predictable. There must be a more complicated review process involving doctors, assignment specialists, etc. before the actual mission assignment is made by a member of the Quorum of Twelve.

Our application was finalized and submitted in mid-March. We knew it would take several weeks to go through the system. Meanwhile, we went on with our plans, that included a "celebrate Bonnie's retirement" trip to China from April 9-19. We knew there was a chance the call would come while we were traveling; fortunately, since mission calls are now delivered electronically instead of by paper, that would not necessarily present a problem. I had arranged to have my phone set up with international access, and with a VPN client that would allow me to bypass the very restrictive firewalls in China.

Preparing for the call

Bonnie and I have always had the goal of retiring early in order to be able to serve multiple missions together. We knew that life is so uncertain; in spite of best intentions, many couples approach retirement age but are suddenly faced with illness or accident that precludes realization of the dream. We figured that the earlier we got started, the better our chances of being healthy and ready! And also better chances of being able to serve multiple missions.